To contact us by phone, dial (425) 822-7161 followed by the extension to reach the appropriate staff member. View our office hours.
Executive Director
Ashlie Beach
(425) 822-7161 x108
abeach@kirklandartscenter.org
Gallery Director & Chief Curator
Miha Sarani
(425) 822-7161 x103
msarani@kirklandartscenter.org
Miha Sarani is a visual artist, an art historian, and an art educator. Born and raised in Ljubljana, Slovenia, he moved permanently to the United States in 2007, becoming a citizen in 2021. He earned a BFA (painting + drawing, ’15), and an MA (art history, ’19) from the University of Washington.
Miha’s work has been shown at art museums and galleries, featured in art journals, publications, promotional material, and on music album covers. His large Koncentrik Painting series is owned by the University of Washington and on permanent display at the Mary Gates Hall. He lectures on art history for Seattle Central College CE, and OSHER program at the University of Washington, as well as practical art making at the Kirkland Arts Center.
Also passionate about music, Miha released his first music album Emona Au Revoir in 2016. It was included in Seattle Public Library’s PlayBack program the following year. He is a member of the Shift Gallery in Seattle, where he works and lives with his wife Tomitha, and their dogs Blue and Sister Ray.
Ceramics Studio Manager
Sean Tessandori
stessandori@kirklandartscenter.
Sean Tessandori is a California-born artist living in Tacoma, WA. Sean began working with clay during high school, and then more seriously while attending University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Sean received his BA in 2017 from the Humboldt State University in Studio Arts with a focus in
Ceramics. His functional forms are thrown and trimmed on the potter’s wheel with added slip trailed texture. The slightly ridged forms which are broken up by sections of recessed and raised texture draw upon his roots in metal and woodworking, and he explores the idea relationship
between handmade functional objects and their effect on everyday life.
Ceramics Technician Emeritus
Pat Colyar
pcolyar@kirklandartscenter.org
Pat Colyar is a longtime ceramics technician at the Kirkland Arts Center and has taught ceramics since 1988. She enjoys helping people learn about the joys of clay work while discovering their own abilities. She specializes in making functional ceramic ware and two-dimensional wall pieces.
Assistant Curator
Holly Koelling
hkoelling@kirklandartscenter.org
Holly began in the arts. She earned a BFA in Studio Arts (large scale oil painting and screen printing) and a BA in Art History. After 25 years as a career librarian and library administrator she returned to a life in the arts, both as a maker and a supporter. Along with her renewed love of oil painting and printmaking, Holly holds a recent Certificate in Photography from the UW and is studying ceramics. Holly believes deeply in the power of making and experiencing art, and especially recognizes the value of engaging people in the extraordinary and diverse world of artists and artworks. In addition to her arts background, Holly brings years of organizational and executive experience in support of KAC’s dynamic Gallery team.
Associate Curator
Ellen McGivern
emcgivern@kirklandartscenter.
Ellen McGivern is a Curator and Arts Administrator whose research focuses on the unique and symbiotic relationship between makers and artist communities. Originally from the Great Plains, Ellen received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas with degrees in both Journalism and Art History. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2017, Ellen completed her MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University, interned at contemporary performance organization On the Boards, and was a writing resident in the University of Washington’s Black Embodiments Studio. Most recently she has worked in Access Services at her alma mater, Seattle University’s Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons, was a Curatorial Assistant for the exhibition, Abstractions of Black Citizenship: African American Art of Saint Louis, and was contracted to assist in Shunpike’s Storefront project, a creative initiative to provide public art experiences in downtown Seattle.
Assistant Ceramics Technician & Registrar
Eleanor Stelter
estelter@kirklandartscenter.org